Scalabrine was signed by the Bulls in the offseason because he was a favorite of Coach Tom Thibodeau -- while Thibs was an assistant in Boston -- as a strong help defender for the entire team during practices and being someone teammates enjoy.

So, why are the chants ridiculous? Because the reason why he was the fan
favorite in Boston to the point where the crowd put on such a circus act
doesn't require too much reading between the lines, McGraw added:

So why do fans cheer for Scalabrine late in games and not, say,
second-year forward James Johnson? The answer is pretty obvious and it's
nothing to be proud of.

The reason has a lot to do with Scalabrine looking like this:

And JJ looking like this:

It's the same reason Ryan Theriot shirts were selling at rates rivaling
that of the local sales of Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, and Carlos
Zambrano.

I've said before on this blog and on my Twitter account that if
Scalabrine were Black, no one would give a shit about his playing time
to such a frenzy. The attempt to mask such an 'obviously' racialist
motive for the extended Scalabrine hysteria is definitely "nothing to be
proud of."

2.) JJ's an out-of-rotation player like Scalabrine. Unlike Scal, he'd actually be a mediocre low-minute rotation player on a some bottom-feeding rosters in the NBA. In other words, they're about on par as bad.

3.) I didn't say it was racist. It's more of a mascot thing that wouldn't exist if he weren't White, all other things being equal.

RE P.S.: Yeah, Theriot's on-field performance was nothing merch-worthy. He never had a WAR over 2. If his defense didn't suck (at one of the most important defensive positions in all of sports), he would've in '08, but that's it.

Wow. You are incredible. You think that fans chanting for Scalabrine is racist? You are out of your mind. Like Andy-Kid said, fans chant for Scalabrine because he is funny to watch. Have you ever been to a Bulls game? Take a look at Scalabrine during warmups. James Johnson doesn't do anything. Since hes been traded to a "non-racist" team, he averages a stunning 8 pts per game. It is racist for you to believe that fans are racist and chant for white players only. You are the kind of person who just looks up articles and puts a spin on them to seem like they are racist. Do fans chant MVP for Derrick Rose? Last time i checked, he was African-American. Fans don't call for Kyle Korver at the end of games, because he is not fun to watch. James Johnson sucks and thats why he was traded. He averages less than 8 pts per game for a mediocre Raptors team. You disgust me. Sweet, you can post a picture of James Johnson dunking. I can post a picture of Darko Milicic doing post moves. Its not like a picture shows how they perform game in and game out. Please don't ever write anything like this crap ever again. Ryan Theriot was a new player who many fans had never seen before. I'm sure Derrick Lee and Aramis jerseys sold at high quantities when they were first introduced to the team. If people wanted a Lee or Ramirez jersey, they would have bought them a long time ago. Last year, were you to be San Fran Giants fan, would you buy a Molina jersey or a Posey jersey? Exactly. Fans care more about whose more up and coming (or who they think might be). Lee struggled last year, in case you didn't realize. My rant is coming to an end, but I hope you realize what you wrote was foolish and naive. I expect more from writer's from Chicago.